“It’s great to see the Koru and the beautiful New Zealand fern emblazoned on this aircraft. This will soon be the first 787-9 aircraft anywhere in the world to operate commercially and I think it will instill a sense of pride in Kiwis and turn heads when it touches down at airports throughout Asia and the Pacific,” said Capt. David Morgan, Air New Zealand Chief Flight Operations and Safety Officer.

The first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the flight line at Paine Field (KPAE) – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter

The first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is expected to be delivered to Air New Zealand sometime in mid-2014. Before then, the aircraft has quite a few tests to complete prior to being certified, and Boeing has one fun adventure planned starting this weekend.

According to the Australian Business Traveller (AusBT), the Dreamliner will conduct stop-overs during testing in Auckland, Brisbane, and Alice Springs.

Not only will this allow the 787-9 to spread its wings, but it will also give those of you who live in the area a chance to catch one of the first glimpses of the longer Dreamliner.

Air New Zealand’s new white fern livery seen on the 787-9 Dreamliner – Image: Air New Zealand

The test aircraft will take advantage of Australia’s hot temperatures in Alice Springs to test out the stretched Dreamliner. The plane flown down will be the second of three test aircraft Boeing is currently using, ZB002. It will be set up with a bunch of different testing equipment and Boeing tells AirlineReporter it will also, “be fitted with elements of the passenger interior.” Boeing will test the plane’s environmental control system and chose Alice Springs because the location, “meets specific test requirements for both facility and atmospheric conditions.”

“Boeing is proud to bring the 787-9 to Auckland to show Air New Zealand what the team has achieved,” said Mark Jenks, vice president, 787 Development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “With more than 150 flights since testing began in September, the test fleet continues to perform very well, and we look forward to delivering the first 787-9 in mid-2014 as promised.”

Air New Zealand flight crew aboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner mock-up – Photo: Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand has been very patient, waiting for delivery of the very first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the stretched version of the currently-flying 787-8. We have been watching closely as the first 787-9 rolled out of paint and then took its maiden flight. The airline still has a while until they take delivery sometime in the middle of 2014, but they are starting to get excited and want to share it with the world.

As of now, Air New Zealand is rolling out some of the details of their Dreamliner interior, as well as what routes the new aircraft will fly.